Candles can be made with various natural and synthetic raw materials. Traditional base raw materials that are used in candle manufacturing include paraffin wax, beeswax, and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Currently, paraffin wax is most commonly used due to its low cost and the availability of different grades of waxes with different melting profiles and physical properties.
The traditional raw materials for candles have many disadvantages. Paraffin wax is a byproduct of refined petroleum oil. Petroleum oil is not a renewable source and the wax that is removed from refined oil is further processed with bleaching agents and additives. While beeswax may be considered to be sustainable, there are currently no beeswax products certified GMO-free by the Non-GMO Project. Beeswax may also not be desired by consumers who seek out animal-free products. Waxes made from vegetable oils, such as soy oil and palm oil, are an alternative. However, the oils must be hydrogenated in order to raise the melting temperature to be acceptable for candle making. Furthermore, soy oil is sourced from GMO plants and palm oil plantations continue to be criticized for violating human rights, child labor and clear cutting forests that threaten wildlife.
Thus, there is a need for sustainably sourced, non-hydrogenated, GMO-free, animal-free, plant based candle compositions having long burn times.